Claim: Former Life Cafe space will be split in two

[Photo yesterday by Michael Sean Edwards]

Last week, we spotted a "for lease" sign up at the Life Cafe space at 10th Street and Avenue B...

Owner Kathy Kirkpatrick closed the 30-year-old cafe last September ... while the two landlords completed long overdue repairs. Life "spans a space belonging to two different buildings with two different landlords whose dispute over the price of the work contract has prevented construction from starting," as The Villager reported last fall.

So a tipster tells us that the Life Cafe configuration will be split into two separate spaces... which probably makes sense since there are two landlords involved...

So far... we've only spotted one listing ... this one at NYREX...

[Updated] Big Reveal Week continues: Here's 100 Third Ave.

Earlier this week, we saw the new building at the long-dormant 219 First Ave. ... Yesterday, workers removed the netting/scaffolding here at 100 Third Ave., which had been in various stages of arrested development through the years...

Eventually (probably), the ground-floor level will be the new home of Nevada Smith's, which is moving up the Avenue...

Updated 10:06 a.m.

Here's Curbed's take on the new building: "a sleek, dare we say featureless, facade with all the clean-scrubbed character of a 19-year-old fresh off the bus and ready to make it big in New York."

And here's how the building looked in November 2009...


There's a lot of history at 100 Third Ave., which we'll discuss later.

Meanwhile, down the Avenue, the cycle of building life continues... as prep work for the demolition of 74-76 Third Ave., the former home to Nevada Smith's, winds down...

Previously on EV Grieve:
100 Third Ave. looks to be Nevada Smith's new home

Those persistent rumors about 74-76 Third Avenue and the future of Nevada Smith's

The East Village will lose a parking lot and gain an apartment building

100 Third Avenue's lonely add-on

Workers spotted at previously dormant 100 Third Ave.

On the March CB3/SLA docket: 200 Avenue A (again) and Bikinis (woo!)

Hey now. The CB3/SLA agenda for March is out...

First, the details: Monday, March 19 at 6:30 p.m. — JASA/Green Residence, 200 E. Fifth St. at Bowery.

As you can see, we circled one of the applicants — something called Bikinis slated for 56 Avenue C. We have no idea what this is all about. (And 56 Avenue C is two storefronts as far as we can remember ... Nublu Records and an empty space?)

Woo! Bikinis! This could keep us in posts for the next, oh, 18 months... However, the name and concept might not have anything to do with swimwear.

Now...

A few other items of note:

Corporate Change

• Luzzo's (Luzzo's 211 LLC), 211 1st Ave (op)

???

Applications within Resolution Areas

• Yong Fa Restaurant Inc, 507 E 6th St (wb)

This is the former 6th Street Kitchen space, which never reopened after that awful fire in Janaury 2011. The space had been for rent. One neighborhood told us they heard it would be "an Asian fusion" restaurant.

• San Matteo Panuozzeria E Birra (San Matteo Panuozzeria Inc), 121 St Marks Pl (b)

[File photo of 200 Avenue A]

• Ave A Hospitality LLC, 200 Ave A (op)

They're back! Good lord. The one-time home to Superdive... This is a little complicated... A group calling themselves Hospitality LLC with a concept for an "art gallery with a full-service restaurant" (smell machine!) concept has appeared before and been rejected by the CB3/SLA committee three times. The group then decided to go directly to the State Liquor Authority for its license. Read the background here.

• Bikinis, 56 Ave C (wb)

Woo!

• Babel, 129 Ave C (op)

• 116 Avenue C Restaurant LLC, 116 Ave C (op)

The former Lava Gina space.

• Drop Off Service, 211 Ave A (op)

???

Alterations

• Prime & Beyond (Prime & Beyond NY Inc), 90 E 10th St (wb/extend to backyard)

By the way, has anyone ever eaten here?

• Wechslers (Eichstatt LLC), 120 1st Ave (wb/extend to backyard)

Oh! The part of the backyard that used to belong to the International...

New Liquor License Applications

• Hotel East Houston (Soho New York Lodging LLC), 151 E Houston St (op)

This is the hotel for sale at Eldridge. The marketing materials say the roof would be a good place for a bar. Neighbors likely have another opinion.

• Village Grill 82 Inc, 202 2nd Ave (wb)

Not sure where 202 Second Ave. is... the Verizon Building is 204; the Little Pakistan Deli and Little Poland are 200 Second Ave.

• Sahara Citi, 137 E 13th St (wb)

This is an empty storefront on the north side of the street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue. Near the Cruises.

• Iconic Hand Rolls (IHR One LLC), 83 St Marks Pl aka 135 1st Ave (wb)

Quite a name! Of course, we thought it said Ironic Hand Rolls at first. Anyway, this must be the empty storefront next to JoeDoe...

• Angelica Kitchen Inc, 300 E 12th St (wb)

----

b=beer only | wb=wine & beer only | op=liquor, wine, & beer | alt=alterations |up=upgrades

San Matteo now open on St. Mark's Place: Get your panuozzo

A 12-seat branch of the Upper East Side-based San Matteo Pizza and Espresso Bar opened Monday on St. Mark's Place near Avenue A (in the space left vacant by Motek, the crepe place...)

A panuozzo is a pizza-panino hybrid that looks like this...

[Via Grub Street]

And via Time Out:

The bread, made with pizza dough, is what sets the panuozzo apart. Here, the flat, chewy loaves come from the flagship Upper East Side restaurant, where they are baked for 25 seconds in a 900-degree wood-fired oven to achieve a moist crumb. Choose from 11 sandwiches, like dry-cured pancetta with provolone and artichokes, honey turkey with smoked buffalo mozzarella and sun-dried Sicilian peppers, and burrata cheese with arugula, roasted peppers and truffle oil.

Did anyone try one of these things yet...?

7-Eleven on the Bowery will be quite festive tomorrow (PRIZE WHEEL!)

The 7-Eleven on the Bowery opened last Dec. 23... and now, it's finally time for the Grand Opening Celebration — 7-Eleven style! Lookee. Lots of free stuff. AND A PRIZE WHEEL.

As the sign says, "Yum!"

[Updated] Reader report: No water (or sleep) on East Ninth Street

EV Grieve reader MP sent along this photo, noting that work crews were busy here overnight on East Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue repairing a broken water line... we understand the water was shut off on the block...and it was running a mucky brown. Any updates?

Updated 7:08 a.m.
The workers got the job done... water is back on this morning... the street is patched back up...

Mulch Madness, of course

Workers dropped off a fresh batch of mulch today in Tompkins Square Park... will this tempt any pub crawlers to play King of the Mountain this weekend? (Please don't answer that...)

Photo by Bobby Williams.

Whiteout at the Houston-Bowery mural wall

Someone started painting over the FAILE mural here on the Bowery and East Houston... it went up in early November... not sure just yet who's next for the wall... Anyone know? And why are they painting over this instead of preserving the art...?

Here's a video of TATS Cru creating the Jeremy Lin mural on Second Street

Yesterday, we mentioned that ANIMAL commissioned TATS Cru to paint an Atlas-inspired tribute to Knicks star Jeremy Lin on Second Street at Avenue A.

Now here's a time-lapse video via ANIMAL New York....

Time Lapse of Jeremy Lin Mural from ANIMALnewyork.com on Vimeo.

The next dessert concept for St. Mark's Place: bacon-filled macarons

So, we have places selling sweet buns and pudding on St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue... and now?

As Julie Shapiro reports at DNAinfo this morning, Macaron Parlour is taking over the vacant storefronts at 111 St. Mark's Place, part of the former Chocolate Library.

The desserts debuted at the Hester Street Fair in 2010... this will be the first shop for Christina Ha and Simon Tung. Per DNA:

"[T]he bakery takes the traditional macaron and adds unusual fillings, from fresh strawberries to candied bacon and maple cream cheese.

For every lemon macaron sold, Macaron Parlor donates $1 to Alex's Lemonade Stand, an organization that seeks to cure pediatric cancer.

These were two of the storefronts that we suggested Bleecker Bob's look at for their relocation.

Another look inside the former theater on Avenue B

We've written a lot about the long-empty 185-193 Avenue B at East 12th Street. A quick recap: There is a demolition application on file already with the city (dated Sept. 20). And, according to the DOB, plans for a mixed-use seven-story building with 44 units are pending with the DOB. (You can read a short history of what's happening with the space here.)

The address was a movie theater for many years, first the Bijou in 1926, then the Charles. (The theater closed in 1975, and a church took over the space.) A fire broke out in the building in October 2006.

Two weeks ago, Brooklyn-based photographer Matt Lambros photographed the space for After the Final Curtain, his excellent photo site on abandoned architecture.

Here are four of the photos that he posted yesterday. (Reposted here with permission.)

Matt said that workers removed the seats about a month ago...

Matt provides a little history of the space too. "By 1937 the Bijou had been sold to the Bell Theater Company. The same year, the Motion Picture Operators Union started a strike for higher wages from the Bell Theater Company; during the strike, two operators locked themselves in the projection booth in protest. Their demands were met 12 hours later and wages were increased to $27.00 a week."

...and here is the former projector room...

Check out the rest of his photos here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Revival planned for church and theater on Avenue B

Inside the Charles

Former landmark countercultural theater now for rent on Avenue B

7-story building in the works to replace former countercultural theater/church on Avenue B

Here's the rest of 219 First Avenue

Yesterday, we posted photos of the penthouse peeking out of the top of 219 First Avenue at 13th Street... workers continued to strip the netting from around the former four-floor building... here's how it's looking this morning...

Hmm. Thoughts on this now that you can see the more of the renovated building...?

Buyer beware

Spotted on East Eighth Street.

So what's going on with the former Ben & Jerry's space on Third Avenue?

The other day, we were walking by the former Ben & Jerry's space on Third Avenue and NYU (technically 41 Third Ave.) ... such seemingly prime space has been empty for some time. Jeremiah first reported that Ben & Jerry's was closing (after 22 years at this location) in September 2010.

So nearly 18 months later... what gives here? Astronomical rent? We looked at the Newmark Knight Frank listing. Pretty specific instructions in all caps for future tenants:

FANTASTIC RETAIL SPACE in NYU DORM.
ABSOLUTELY NO COOKING, NO TEA, NO COFFEE.
Formerly Ben and Jerry's.

Hot East Village Location.

The rent is "negotiable" for the 1,175 square feet.

The listing including this sad photo of abandoned cows...

What do you think? Cellphone store? Radio Shack? Egg shop?

This is what an empty lot on East Third Street near Avenue C looked like on Feb. 26, 2012

This year, we'll post photos like this of various buildings, streetscenes, etc., to capture them as they looked at this time and place... The photos may not be the most telling now, but they likely will be one day...

The line for free pancakes at the East Village IHOP

Earlier, we noted that it was National Pancake Day at IHOP... (a free short stack of pancakes in return for considering leaving a donation for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and other designated local charities...)

And there was a line to get in early this afternoon...

...a lot of high school students in (or on!) line ...

'Linsanity' strikes the corner of Avenue A and Second Street

[ANIMALNewYork]

So you may have heard about the New York Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin ... Anyway, our friends at ANIMAL New York passed this along:

In honor of this newfound responsibility – and crushing pressure – ANIMAL commissioned TATS Cru to paint an Atlas-inspired tribute to the man of the hour.

It's up on the southeast corner, where we've been seeing some marriage proposals of late... the mural should be up for another month...

See more photos here.

$1 drinks tomorrow for Customer Appreciation Day at the Bean's Second Avenue location

Tomorrow, the Bean outpost on Second Avenue at East Third Street is holding a Customer Appreciation Day. According to the Bean Facebook page (and these posters), all 12-ounce drinks, hot or cold, will be $1.

Photos by jdx.

Former Mission Cafe on Second Avenue becoming a Turkish restaurant

The Mission Cafe at 82 Second Ave. near East Fifth Street closed back in November 2010 ... the space had been on the block for several months prior to the closure.


According to Crain's New York this afternoon, Village Grill 82 Inc. recently signed a 10-year lease for the 700 square feet of space. Per Crain's: "The eatery, which has yet to be named, is expected to open for business this spring."

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

[East 13th Street at Third Avenue by Bobby Williams]

Little Rickie vs. Starbucks on First Avenue and East Third Street (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Funny business with rent-stabilized tenants (Occupy East 4th Street)

Moving into an abandoned East 11th Street tenement in 1980 (Gothamist)

The Mosaic Man is selling belt buckles on Etsy (DNAinfo)

More photos from Occupy Town Square Sunday in Tompkins Square Park (The Gog Log ... GammaBlog has video interviews here...)

Philip Glass on the meaning of love (The Village Voice)

Olivia closes on East Houston (BoweryBoogie)

Former Rolling Stone writer-editor Paul Scanlon talks Hunter S. Thompson, great bars (Tripping With Marty)

Madonna rehashing 1984-era Cyndi Lauper? (Forbes)

Meanwhile, gotta go – my ship has come in...

[Dave on 7th]

The 'for rent' signs have arrived on the corner of 14th Street and Avenue A

Spotted yesterday on the sidewalk shed...

A three-alarm fire wiped out the corner on May 12, 2010... taking with it neighborhood favorites Stuyvesant Grocery and Pete's-a-Pizza ...

[EV Grieve reader Sergey]

The corner has sat vacant since crews stripped the place clean several months after the fire... the owners of both businesses had said that they wanted to reopen here ...

[February 2011]

Conspiracy theories abound for this corner ripe for development. The usual suspects such as NYU have already been eliminated. (Via The Villager.)

The number is for Solil Management/Sol Goldman Investments. We didn't find any details about terms of the rentals, space available, air rights, etc.

Thoughts on what type of development will eventually land here?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Conspiracies: What next for 14th Street and Avenue A?

Renovations in order for Stuyvesant Grocery and Pete's-A-Place?

Penthouse striptease at 219 First Avenue

Seems as if the northwest corner of First Avenue at 13th Street has been boarded up/under construction since, say, 2005... the ground floor here once housed the Mee Noodle Shop, a favorite spot for Allen Ginsburg...

[A shot from 2007 via Flickr]

...and in 2009...



Yesterday, workers unwrapped the top levels of the former four-floor building...

...and by the end of the work day...

According to the retail listing... you can take possession of the ground-floor space in March....

We haven't found any information just yet on the housing portion of the building, and whether it will be condos or rentals. The DOB lists Joshua Landau of Integrated Capital as the building's owner.

Previously on EV Grieve:
219 First Avenue ready for a chain store, probably

Banned Bronx billboard on the Bowery

Well, it's not the same billboard here above the the Downtown Auto & Tire Center at Great Jones ... it's just the same ad for Wódka Vodka that angered Bronx community leaders after the billboard arrived over the Bruckner Expressway leading to Hunts Point, "an area still battling an image as a place to buy sex," as the Daily News reported.

After speaking with the local Community Board, the marketing company removed it last week. Per the marketing guy: "We wanted to help them out. We're going to get rid of the billboard and take it down, and we applaud them for what they're doing in their community."

Hmm.

Anyway, BoweryBoogie notes all this today ... and he has his own take. Meanwhile, we will be petitioning to have that "Rock Center with Brian Williams" ad below it removed ... We'll think of a reason why.

2 reasons to try Hot Kitchen, probably

Dave on 7th passes along this sign that he spotted on Seventh Street and Second Avenue... We're unsure if this is supposed to be for or against Hot Kitchen, the Sichuan restaurant that opened last September on Second Avenue near Sixth Street.

In the end, we think this is supposed to be for the place, because their chef doesn't cook and smoke at the same time... and the delivery people don't nibble on your food...

Regardless, Hot Kitchen is a good spot that we like ... and they also like it at New York magazine and the Voice... the NYC Food Guy ...